Cater To You Chef Manager Erik Grinberg is eager to bring lunch to the next level, but Heschel is only the most recent of the myriad stops on his culinary journey. Grinberg first stepped into a kitchen at the age of 18. A friend offered him a job at one of his restaurants, and Grinberg accepted. “[It had] very long hours and low pay,” Grinberg recalled, “but I wanted to try it out.”
After a few years, he took his experience to New York, where he worked in the kitchens of the Michelin-starred Le Bernardin and Per Se. After briefly heading home to Israel, he decided to return to New York, where he found work at Soho’s Le Coucou before joining with Israeli Restaurateur Meir Adoni’s Nur.
“I’m constantly looking for ways to progress in my career,” said Grinberg, recalling the decision to apply to work with Cater To You (CTY). Although he mainly had restaurant experience, a stint at the Waldorf Astoria in Israel prepared him for the challenges large-scale food preparation would bring. Grinberg worked first at the Nightingale-Bamford school, and later at St. Hilda’s and St. Hugh’s, before ending up at Heschel in his seventh year with CTY.
“I see this job as steering the ship; like the crew on a ship, everyone has their job, and someone has to steer, to keep us on course.” Heschel is the largest school Grinberg has worked with, “but it all transfers over.” Grinberg said “the biggest challenge– not necessarily a challenge, really– getting to know new people.” He considers familiarizing himself with not just the administration, but the student body as well, to be integral to success in the cafeteria: “getting to know what everybody likes… That’s a natural part of coming into a new [culinary] operation.”
Planning meals is a fairly linear process to Grinberg. “When I worked at the Waldorf, it was quite a transition, learning how to work around kashrut,” Grinberg said, “but once I did that for a few years, it became a second habit.”
Even so, a rigorous allergen and dietary-need evaluation is Grinberg’s first step in designing menu items. “That narrows down my basket a bit… From there, I see if it’s something people will eat. Importantly, I also see if we can make it well. We have a lot of equipment here; I’m very fortunate.”
Grinberg’s schedule keeps him busy; he starts handling deliveries at around 6 AM and is planning, supervising, and ordering for around twelve hours. But in his limited free time, he enjoys exploring New York: “Living in the city, I’m taking my time to see the hidden parts.”
“It’s kind of this cycle of going back and forth between places that have no connection to [Israeli] culture and the places that are strongly connected,” said Grinberg, reflecting on his career’s path over the years. “I’m thrilled to be here… all of the places I’ve worked have led to this.”
Ultimately, Grinberg’s goal at Heschel is “to fix things for people; [he likes] to be given a problem and come back with a solution.” If you see him around the school, share your thoughts with him. “The bottom line for me,” says Grinberg, “[is] seeing people get what they want, seeing people happy.”